Æthelflæd of Damerham was

Queen of the English The English royal consorts listed here were the spouses of the reigning monarchs of the Kingdom of England, excluding the joint rulers, Mary I and Philip who reigned together in the 16th century, and William III and Mary II who reigned toget ...

as the second wife of King Edmund I from their marriage 944 until Edmund died in 946. Æthelflæd was a daughter of ealdorman Ælfgar, probably the ealdorman of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. Her mother's name is not recorded. She had at least one brother and at least one sister, Ælfflæd (died ). Ælfflæd was married to

Byrhtnoth Byrhtnoth ( ang, Byrhtnoð), Ealdorman of Essex ( 931 - 11 August 991), died at the Battle of Maldon. His name is composed of the Old English ''beorht'' (bright) and ''noþ'' (courage). He is the subject of '' The Battle of Maldon'', an Old ...

, who probably succeeded her father as ealdorman of

. Byrhtnoth was killed at the

Battle of Maldon The Battle of Maldon took place on 11 August 991 AD near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the English against a Viking invasion. The battl ...

in 991. Æthelflæd and Ælfflæd were Ælfgar's heirs at his death, some time between 946 and 951 based on the dating of his will
S1483
Æthelflæd married Edmund following the death in 944 of his first wife Ælfgifu, mother of the future kings

Eadwig Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were young ...

and Edgar. She and Edmund are not known to have had any children, and Edmund was killed in 946, leaving Æthelflæd as a wealthy widow. Records of Ely Cathedral, to which she, her sister, and her brother-in-law, were generous benefactors, say that she then married ealdorman Æthelstan, probably

Æthelstan Rota Æthelstan (floruit 940–970) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman. He served as an Ealdorman in southern Mercia in the reigns of Kings Eadwig and Edgar. He is referred to as Æthelstan Rota (Æthelstan the Red) in one charter, and is so known to dist ...

. However, the suggestion that she remarried has been disputed. Æthelflæd's will survives
S1494
and her will, and thus her death, is dated to between 962, and more probably 975, and 991. In addition to gifts to Ely, the will endowed

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, and the

family monastery A house monastery, family monastery or dynastic monastery (german: Hauskloster) is a Christian monastery that has a particular relationship with a noble family. Often, but not always, what subsequently became the house monastery was founded by t ...

of Stoke-by-Nayland.

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* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelflaed Of Damerham 10th-century births 10th-century deaths Anglo-Saxon royal consorts 10th-century English people 10th-century English women House of Wessex English royal consorts Remarried royal consorts

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